TW201516642A - Controller - Google Patents

Abstract

The portable operation device (TP) is connected to a robot control device (RC) by wireless communication. The portable operation device (TP) is operated by electric power supplied from a secondary battery (36). The portable operation device (TP) is provided with a voltage-monitoring circuit (51) and a boot control section (52). The voltage-monitoring circuit (51) monitors the residual charge of the secondary battery (36). When the power source button (7) is pressed and a request to execute the booting process is made, the boot control section (52) checks the residual charge of the secondary battery (36) measured by the voltage-monitoring circuit (51). When the residual charge of the secondary battery (36) is determined to be a specified value or less, the boot control section (52) discontinues the booting process.

Description

Operating device

The present invention relates to an operating device that operates by connecting to an operating object machine by wireless communication and operating when the operating object machine transmits and receives various data messages.

Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose an information processing device such as a desktop PC (personal computer) that is activated by power supply from an external power source. The information processing device disclosed in these documents is provided with an uninterruptible power supply device for solving the problem of power failure. Therefore, when the power supply is stopped from the external power source, the application or the operating system in the job can be normally ended by switching the power supply to the uninterruptible power supply device. Thereby, it is possible to prevent damage to the memory material or hardware inside the information processing device.

Patent Document 3 discloses an information processing device such as a mobile phone or a notebook PC that is moved by a secondary battery assembled in a casing. The information processing apparatus disclosed in this document is configured such that when the residual amount of the secondary battery becomes low, the system is normally terminated (hereinafter, also referred to as shutdown processing) before stopping the supply of electric power from the secondary battery, thereby Protect memory data.

Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 disclose a robot system including a robot control device that controls a robot, and a portable operation device that can communicate with the robot control device. In the robot system disclosed in these documents, the robot control device and the portable operation device The communication between the devices is wireless by means of a network communication technology corresponding to the IEEE 802 standard. Therefore, the operator can perform remote operation on the robot control device as the operation target machine using the portable operating device. Further, the portable operating device is configured to be actuated by power supply from the secondary battery. Therefore, when the residual amount of the secondary battery becomes low, as in the information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, the memory data inside the portable operating device can be protected by automatically performing the shutdown processing.

However, even with this form, the secondary battery still has a small amount of capacity after the shutdown process. Therefore, when the user turns off the power of the portable operating device after the shutdown process is completed, the startup operation of the portable operating device is started. In this case, the residual amount of the secondary battery may become zero in the startup operation of the portable operating device, thereby causing the power supply from the secondary battery to completely stop. Even if the startup operation of the portable operating device is completed, the shutdown process will be implemented again because the residual amount of the secondary battery is detected to be low, and the power supply from the secondary battery will still be completely stopped during the operation. After that. As described above, if the power supply is stopped during the startup of the portable operating device or during the shutdown process, the memory data inside the portable operating device may be damaged.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-39685.

Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-297270.

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-310665.

Patent Document 4: International Publication No. 2009/119379.

Patent Document 5: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-341356.

An object of the present invention is to provide an operation device capable of preventing damage of a memory data caused by stopping power supply when power supply from a secondary battery is stopped.

In order to solve the above problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an operation device can be provided which is connected to an operation target device by wireless communication, and operates when a data message is transmitted and received to an operation target device, wherein a second time is assembled inside the operation device. The battery is operated by power supply from the secondary battery. The operation device includes: a monitoring means for monitoring the residual amount of the secondary battery; and an activation control means for performing a startup process when the power of the operation device is turned on; and the activation control means is configured to perform the activation process when required When the residual amount of the secondary battery is confirmed, when it is determined that the residual amount of the secondary battery is equal to or less than the specified value, the execution of the startup processing is suspended.

1‧‧‧Robot control system

2‧‧‧Protection grid

4‧‧‧Emergency stop switch

5‧‧‧ display

6‧‧‧ keyboard

7‧‧‧Power button

8‧‧‧Switch wireless switch

9‧‧‧ Busbar

12‧‧‧ transceiver

14‧‧‧RAM

16‧‧‧ROM

17‧‧‧Action Control Department

18‧‧‧Drive Command Department

19‧‧‧ Memory Department

21‧‧‧Communication Processing Department

25‧‧‧Display Processing Department

26‧‧‧Display Processing Department

30‧‧‧Information Storage Department

33‧‧‧CPU

36‧‧‧Secondary battery

39‧‧‧ Busbar

41‧‧‧Communication Processing Department

45‧‧‧Display Control Department

46‧‧‧Key input monitoring department

47‧‧‧Connected to the Information Storage Department

49‧‧‧Power Control Department

51‧‧‧Voltage monitoring circuit

52‧‧‧Starting Control Department

53‧‧‧LED

CU‧‧‧Charging device

R‧‧‧Robot

RC‧‧‧Robot control unit

T‧‧‧ tools

TP‧‧‧ portable operating device

HM‧‧‧Workers

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a robot control system provided with an operating device of the present invention.

The block diagram shown in Figure 2 shows the form of the robot control system.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a portable operating device in which the operating device according to the present invention is specifically applied to a robot control system will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot control system 1 includes a robot R, a robot control device RC that controls the operation of the robot R, and a portable operating device TP that can communicate with the robot control device RC. The robot R is an industrial robot that performs operations such as arc welding or spot welding. The robot control system 1 is configured to be between the portable operating device TP and the robot control device RC Make wireless communication. Therefore, the worker HM can operate the portable operating device TP to perform the teaching operation of the robot R. In addition, the wireless communication between the portable operating device TP and the robot control device RC refers to one-to-one two-way communication.

The robot R is disposed inside the protective fence 2. At the front end of the wrist of the robot R, an operating tool T such as an electric arc torch or a spot welding gun is mounted.

The portable operating device TP includes a microcomputer in which an operating system such as Windows (registered trademark) is installed. Further, the portable operating device TP includes a display 5, a keyboard 6, an emergency stop switch 4, a power button 7, and a switching wireless switch 8. The function of the display 5 is as a display portion for displaying various materials. The worker HM operates the keyboard 6 and performs the teaching operation of the robot R. Further, the worker HM can also operate the emergency stop switch 4 to cause the robot R to be stopped in an emergency.

A secondary battery (not shown) is incorporated inside the portable operating device TP. The electric power from the secondary battery can be supplied by operating the power button 7. The secondary battery is configured to be charged from a commercial power source by connecting the portable operating device TP to a charging device (not shown). The operation of the worker HM is to operate the switching wireless switch 8 to establish or interrupt wireless communication between the portable operating device TP and the robot control device RC. After the wireless communication is established, the teaching operation signal output by the portable operating device TP is transmitted to the robot control device RC by wireless communication. The teaching operation signal includes: a jog feed signal for moving the robot R by manual operation, a teaching signal for memorizing the working position of the robot R, and an emergency stop for stopping the robot R in an emergency. Signals, etc. After the teaching operation signals are transmitted by the portable operating device TP, the robot control device RC performs various processes such as the micro-feeding operation of the robot R, the creation of the teaching materials, and the emergency stop.

The robot control device RC is based on the teaching from the portable operating device TP Make a signal to create a teaching material. Further, the robot controller RC stores the teaching material in a memory unit (not shown) inside the robot controller RC. Further, when an activation signal is input from the outside, the robot controller RC reproduces (dials) the teaching material and implements the automatic operation of the robot R.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot control system 1 is provided with a robot control device RC and a portable operating device TP, and further has a charging device CU for charging the portable operating device TP.

The portable operating device TP includes a CPU 33 as a central calculation processing device and a temporary calculation area, in addition to the emergency stop switch 4, the display 5, the keyboard 6, the power button 7, and the switching wireless switch 8. The RAM 34, the transceiver 32, the secondary battery 36 as a driving source of the portable operating device TP, the memory unit 15, the ROM 35, and the like. The memory unit 15 is constituted by a hard disk or a semiconductor memory that stores various materials. In the ROM 35, various software programs are stored.

Transceiver 32 has a wireless LAN interface. The transceiver 32 is for wireless communication between the robot controller RC and the portable operating device TP. The memory unit 15 is provided with a connection information storage unit 47. In the connection information storage unit 47, connection information for communication between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC is stored. As the connection information, for example, information such as an IP address, a subnet mask, a preset gateway, a MAC address, and the like can be cited. Emergency stop switch 4, display 5, keyboard 6, power button 7, switching wireless switch 8, CPU 33, RAM 34, transceiver 32, secondary battery 36, memory unit 15, and ROM 35 are connected to each other via bus bar 39. connection.

The secondary battery 36 is chargeable by a charging device. Specifically, when the portable operating device TP is installed to a designated position of the charging device CU, the charging circuit (not shown) is electrically The connection to the charging device CU is started, and the charging operation of the secondary battery 36 is started. The power source of the charging device CU can be supplied by the robot controller RC or by a commercial power source.

The portable operating device TP further includes a voltage monitoring circuit 51 as a monitoring means and an LED 53 as a notification means. The voltage monitoring circuit 51 measures the battery residual amount of the secondary battery 36 at a predetermined cycle. The LED 53 performs a notification operation when the remaining amount of the battery detected by the voltage monitoring circuit 51 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

The software program stored in the ROM 35 is used to control the above-described respective parts in an overall operation system (not shown). Further, the ROM 35 includes a display control unit 45, a key input monitoring unit 46, a communication processing unit 41, a power supply control unit 49, and a startup control unit 52.

The display control unit 45 displays the display material on the display 5. The key input monitoring unit 46 monitors the key input from the keyboard 6. The communication processing unit 41 performs a related processing operation for controlling communication establishment with the robot control device RC, and blocking processing or communication itself. Further, the processing operation performed by the communication processing unit 41 is for storing network connection information such as an identification number or an IP address of the robot control device RC communicably connected to the portable operating device TP, to the storage unit 15 or the RAM. Processing in 34. The various types of data input by the keyboard 6 are transmitted to the robot controller RC in the form of packets via the communication processing unit 41 and the transceiver 32.

The power supply control unit 49 is configured to control the power supply from the secondary battery 36 and to stop the power supply in accordance with the pressing operation of the power button 7 in order to turn on or off the power of the portable operating device TP. When the power button 7 is pressed and the start-up process is requested, the start control unit 52 as the start control means performs various hardware startup processes and starts an operation system (not shown). As a result, the portable operating device TP is formed into a usable state.

The robot control device RC includes a CPU as a central calculation processing device 13. A RAM 14, a ROM 16, a memory unit 19, an operation control unit 17, a drive command unit 18, a transceiver 12, and the like as a temporary calculation area. In the ROM 16, various software programs are stored. The memory unit 19 is composed of a hard disk or a semiconductor memory that stores various materials such as teaching materials or constants. The operation control unit 17 performs an operation such as trajectory calculation of the robot R, and outputs the calculation result to the drive command unit 18 as a drive signal. The drive command unit 18 is a servo control signal for outputting each servo motor for controlling the robot R. The transceiver 12 performs wireless communication between the robot controller RC and the portable operating device TP. The CPU 13, the RAM 14, the ROM 16, the storage unit 19, the operation control unit 17, the drive command unit 18, and the transceiver 12 are connected to each other via the bus bar 9.

The transceiver 12 has a wireless LAN interface. The transceiver 12 is in wireless communication between the robot controller RC and the portable operating device TP. The storage unit 19 includes a connection information storage unit 27 and a teaching material storage unit 30. In the teaching material storage unit 30, teaching materials corresponding to input operations from the portable operating device TP are stored. In the connection information storage unit 27, connection information is stored for communication between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC. As the connection information, for example, an IP address, a subnet mask, a preset gateway, a MAC address, and the like are listed.

The software program stored in the ROM 16 can control the above-described respective parts as a whole in an operating system (not shown). Further, the ROM 16 includes a communication processing unit 21, a display processing unit 25, an explanation execution unit 26, and the like. The communication processing unit 21 performs communication processing with the portable operating device TP. The display processing unit 25 generates display materials for display on the display 5 of the portable operation device TP. The explanation execution unit 26 outputs the operation control signal to the operation control unit 17 in order to interpret the teaching material stored in the teaching material storage unit 30.

Hereinafter, the operation of the robot control system 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 .

(1. General use)

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the worker HM presses the power button 7 of the portable operating device TP that stops the power supply. In this manner, the startup control unit 52 executes various hardware startup processes to activate an operating system (not shown). Thereafter, the specified application is started by the operating system, and finally, a state in which the operation of the portable operating device TP can be performed by the worker HM is formed. In this state, the worker HM can establish wireless communication with the robot controller RC by operating the switching wireless switch 8, and then start the teaching operation of the robot R. When the teaching operation of the robot R is completed, the worker HM operates the switching wireless switch 8 to end the wireless communication with the robot controller RC.

(2. In use, when the residual amount of the battery is lower than the first specified value)

The voltage monitoring circuit 51 monitors the residual amount of the secondary battery 36 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the remaining amount of the battery) at a predetermined cycle. When the remaining amount of the battery is equal to or lower than the first predetermined value, the power source control unit 49 requests the shutdown process in the operating system. The first specified value indicates the amount of battery remaining necessary to perform the shutdown process. In this manner, when the remaining amount of the battery is lower than the first specified value, the shutdown process is automatically performed.

(3. After the shutdown process has been performed, the startup process is required)

Here, as described above, the state in which the worker HM has pressed the power button 7 is assumed while the secondary battery 36 is not being charged while the shutdown process has been performed. In this case, when the power button 7 is pressed, the activation control unit 52 determines that there is a request to execute the activation processing, and starts the startup processing. However, the startup control unit 52 performs the following processing before performing the startup processing. That is, the processing operation of the startup control unit 52 is configured to confirm the voltage monitoring circuit 51. The measured battery residual amount is determined whether or not the battery residual amount is equal to or less than the second specified value. The second designated value refers to the amount of battery remaining necessary to perform the startup process. When the remaining battery amount is equal to or less than the second predetermined value, the startup control unit 52 suspends the startup processing. At the same time, since the remaining amount of the battery is equal to or less than the second predetermined value, the startup processing cannot be performed. Therefore, the activation control unit 52 notifies whether or not the LED 53 is blinking.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the residual amount of the battery is less than or equal to the specified value, the portable operating device TP cannot be activated, and therefore, during the startup of the portable operating device TP, the secondary battery 36 can be prevented. The power supply has completely stopped. Thereby, it is possible for the portable operating device TP to prevent breakage of the memory material due to the stoppage of the power supply from the secondary battery 36.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify that the remaining amount of the battery is equal to or lower than a specified value by causing the LED 53 to be lit or blinked. Thereby, the operator HM only needs to confirm that the LED 53 is lit or blinking, and the reason why the portable operating device TP cannot be activated can be understood. As a result, the operator HM can be urged to perform the charging operation of the portable operating device TP.

Further, although the operation device of the present invention has been described in detail with respect to the portable operation device incorporated in the robot control system, it is not limited thereto. That is, the operating device of the present invention can also be applied to a portable device that operates with a secondary battery, and is particularly applicable to an operating device in which an operating system or a firmware for performing shutdown processing is assembled. As such an operation device, for example, a remote operation device such as a fusion machine or a processing machine can be cited.

1‧‧‧Robot control system

2‧‧‧Protection grid

4‧‧‧Emergency stop switch

5‧‧‧ display

6‧‧‧ keyboard

7‧‧‧Power button

8‧‧‧Switch wireless switch

R‧‧‧Robot

RC‧‧‧Robot control unit

T‧‧‧ tools

TP‧‧‧ portable operating device

HM‧‧‧Workers

Claims (3)

An operation device for operating a device for transmitting and receiving data to and from a device to be operated by wireless communication, wherein a secondary battery is assembled inside the operation device by power supply from the secondary battery In addition, the monitoring means includes: a monitoring means for monitoring the residual amount of the secondary battery; and an activation control means for performing a startup process when the power of the operation device is turned on; and the activation control means is configured to When the start-up process is required to be performed, the residual amount of the secondary battery is confirmed. However, when it is determined that the residual amount of the secondary battery is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the execution of the start-up process is suspended. The operation device according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying when the residual amount of the secondary battery is equal to or less than the predetermined value. The operation device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the operation target device is a manipulator or a robot control device that controls the robot arm.